[To receive free, weekly sermons by email, please contact jonrmcleod@yahoo.com]
It’s often said that Charles Dickens, one of the most popular writers of all time, considered the parable of the prodigal son to be “the greatest story ever told.”
Since this parable is really about the different reactions to the prodigal, it could also be called “The Forgiving Father and the Begrudging Brother.”
Luke 15:11-32
11Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
13“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19I am no longer worthy to be called you son; make me like one of your hired men.’ 20So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still along way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put in on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
25“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
28“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
31“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
THE STORY
Verses 11-24 can be broken into three parts:
1. The REBELLION (vv. 11-16)
“There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living” (vv. 11-13).
The younger son was really saying to his father, “I wish you were dead.” The younger son converted his inheritance into cash, traveled to a distant country, and went on a spending spree. Soon his money was gone. The younger son is called the prodigal son because the word “prodigal” means “wasteful.”
“After he had spend everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything” (vv. 14-16).
Not only did the prodigal son run out of money, but he also ran into a famine. With his money gone, he had to take a job feeding pigs. Feeding pigs would be a bad job for anyone, but for a Jew it was even worse. It was probably the most humiliating job for a Jew, since pigs were unclean animals (Leviticus 11:7). The son was in so much need that he even longed to eat the pigs’ food. Even the pigs were better of than him!
· The prodigal’s rebellion against his father pictures our sin against God.
· The father allowing his son to go to a distant country with his inheritance pictures God allowing people the freedom to sin.
· The son squandering his money and ending up feeding pigs pictures how running away from God starts by feeling free but ends in misery—either in this life or in the life to come.
2. The REPENTANCE (vv. 17-20a)
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called you son; make me like one of your hired men.’ So he got up and went to his father (vv. 17-20a).
To “repent” means “to change one’s mind.” This is what the prodigal son did. He finally realized that life was better with his father. He didn’t want to live in that distant country anymore. “So he got up and went to his father” (v. 20).
“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son’” (v. 21).
The son offered no excuses. He knew he was guilty of the worst kind of rebellion.
3. The REJOICING (vv. 20b-24)
Notice how the father welcomes his son:
(1) “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him” (v. 20b).
(2) “And was filled with compassion for him” (v. 20c).
(3) “He ran to his son” (v. 20d).
Middle-aged Jewish men did not run. But this father was so excited to see his son that he ran to meet him.
(4) “Threw his arms around him and kissed him” (v. 20e).
(5) “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet’” (v. 22).
(6) “‘Bring the fatted calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate’” (v. 23).
It was as if the father declared, “Spare no effort! Spare no expense!”
LOST AND FOUND
Why did Jesus tell this story? We find the reason in verses 1-2.
Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them” (Luke 15:1-2).
The purpose of the parable was to teach the Pharisees and the teachers of the law (and us) that their attitude toward the tax collectors and sinners was wrong.
1. God WELCOMES repentant sinners.
There are three main characters in the parable of the prodigal son: the younger brother, the older brother, and the father.
· The younger brother pictures repentant SINNERS (like the tax collectors and “sinners”).
· The older brother pictures SELF-RIGHTEOUS people (like the Pharisees and the teachers of the law).
· The father pictures GOD.
The different responses of the father and the older son to the prodigal parallel the different responses of Jesus and the Pharisees to the tax collectors and “sinners.”
This parable is an encouragement to people like the tax collectors and “sinners.” When we turn from our sin, we will be welcomed by God. And it is a rebuke to people like the Pharisees and teachers of the law. We must not begrudge God’s generosity for even the most wayward of sinners.
With repentance comes reconciliation.
2. God REJOICES over repentant sinners.
The parable of the prodigal son is part of a trilogy of parables: (1) the lost sheep, (2) the lost coin, and (3) the lost son.
· The Lost Sheep
Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent” (Luke 15:3-7).
· The Lost Coin
“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:8-10).
All three parables have two things in common:
(1) Something was LOST and then FOUND (sheep, coin, son).
“The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10).
(2) There was a great CELEBRATION.
· “‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep’” (v. 6).
· “‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin’” (v. 9).
· “‘This son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate” (v. 24).
God doesn’t reluctantly receive repentant sinners into His family. He celebrates! There’s a party in heaven every time one (not 100) sinner repents!
GOD’S GRACE
The forgiveness the father lavished on his wayward son pictures the grace God gives to those who turn from their sin and put their trust in Jesus Christ.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Grace is undeserved kindness. The ungrateful, selfish, and wasteful son did not deserve the kindness his father showed him. Neither do we deserve the kindness of God. We all are sinners. We all have rebelled against God.
1. God withholds from us what we do deserve: REJECTION.
2. God gives to us what we don’t deserve: ACCEPTANCE.
